Land and Water Are a Gift From God, Not a Commodity

Indigenous Protesters at Standing Rock 

"... it is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions.  They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principle dialogue partners, especially when large projects affecting their land are proposed.  For them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values.  When they remain on their land, they themselves care for it best.

Nevertheless, in various parts of the world, pressure is being put on them to abandon their homelands to make room for agricultural or mining projects which are undertaken without regard for the degradation of nature and culture."
                                                                                              Pope Francis  no.146 Laudato Si

Standing Rock Demonstrators

"Even as the quality of water available is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market.  Yet access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights."

                                                                                               Pope Francis  no.30 Laudato Si